Third graders investigate rubbing two objects together to produce heat.

Fifth graders work cooperatively in groups to assemble and launch a rocket.

Students participate in an online activity to determine how objects heat and cool. They determine what objects best serve as thermal insulators.

Students participate in an online lesson to determine that different plants and animals are found in different habitats. They use food chains to show feeding relationships in a habitat, and see that nearly all food chains start with a...

Learners participate in an online lesson to determine how light travels from a source, and to explain that shadows form when light travelling from a source is blocked.

Students participate in an online lesson showing that gases are formed when liquids evaporate and that when a gas is cooled, it condenses to form a liquid, and gases move and flow more easily than liquids, and how gases differ from solids.

Students examine how micro-organisms are living organisms that are often too small to be seen. They explain that micro-organisms may be beneficial or harmful.

In this investigation, students will learn that speed, velocity, and changes in velocity are the result of the action of forces on objects such as friction. They will be able to explain how the force of friction opposes motion by...

In the first of two lessons of this curricular unit, students are introduced to the concept of friction as a force that impedes motion when two surfaces are in contact. Student teams use spring scales to drag objects, such as a ceramic...

Young scholars are introduced to the concept of inertia and its application to a world without the force of friction acting on moving objects. When an object is in motion, friction tends to be the force that acts on this object to slow...

We all recognize what friction is, but do you really understand what causes it? This project focuses on friction, its causes and forces and specifically how it affects how fast you can slip down slides.

The funny thing about friction is that you couldn't get anywhere without it, yet it still acts to slow you down as you're getting there. Here is an easy project to measure the effects of friction.

Students study how the nature of two materials in contact, and the smoothness of their surfaces affect the magnitude of the sliding force of friction. They use a force sensor to measure frictional force for different surfaces.

A collection of experiments where students can learn about how friction works and affects the physical world. At the end, students design a tortoise to win by slowing it down using friction. Lesson includes explanation of the concept of...

Students use LEGO MINDSTORMS robotics to help conceptualize and understand the force of friction. Specifically, they observe how different surfaces in contact result in different frictional forces. A LEGO robot is constructed to pull a...

By the end of this section, you will be able to discuss the general characteristics of friction, describe the various types of friction, and calculate the magnitudes of static and kinetic frictional forces.

By the end of this section, you will be able to calculate coefficient of friction on a car tire and to calculate ideal speed and angle of a car on a turn.

By the end of this section, you will be able to define nonconservative forces and explain how they affect mechanical energy, and to show how the principle of conservation of energy can be applied by treating the conservative forces in...

Learn about the force of friction on this reference page which defines why friction is important and how it can change physic problems.

Students must determine the work done by a horizontal force when there is a frictional force acting on the box. Students must then find the speed of the box.

Step into Dirtmeister's Science Lab and become a Science Snooper! Work side by side with him as he sets out to answer the challenge question: "How does the force of friction affect us in our daily lives?"

Building upon their understanding of forces and Newton's laws of motion, students learn about the force of friction, specifically with respect to cars. They explore the friction between tires and the road to learn how it affects the...

With a simple demonstration activity, young scholars are introduced to the concept of friction as a force that impedes motion when two surfaces are in contact. Then, in the Associated Activity (Sliding and Stuttering), they work in teams...

In the following interactive students will begin to calculate coefficient of friction on a car tire. They will also calculate ideal speed and angle of a car on a turn.